


The Other Sister

by Avidfanficwriter



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Abuse, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Anxiety, Depression, Drug Use, Drugs, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Pain, Sexual Content, Slow Burn, Suicidal Thoughts, illegal substances, insecure, will add while updates come
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2019-10-12 05:37:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17461613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avidfanficwriter/pseuds/Avidfanficwriter
Summary: After five years of marriage, Steve Rogers finds himself questioning everything that his wife, Annabel has ever told him thanks to the impromptu visit by her troubled younger sister: Addison; whose existence he’s just learned about fives years prior. His only question now is: who verison is the truth? His loving wife? Or the troubled sister?





	1. The Devils came a knocking

**Author's Note:**

> This shits gonna hurt

There's a scene in dramatic movies that always seem to be shot in the same way, a simple setting, two people, one is nervous while the other is calm.  The person who is lucky enough to be calm eventually notices the odd behaviors from the other and questions it. They're given a jaw-droppingly shocking statement. The kind that makes them choke on their drink or forget how to breathe. At first, they don't know how to react. It's a pot full of emotions, anger, sadness, annoyance or worst-case scenario disgust. They question how they are going to get over it or understand it. 

That moment of being unclear how to continue is how Steve felt right now, only instead of just a flurry of emotions, there's a nauseous feeling pooling in the pit of his stomach.

"-ay for a while." He doesn't have the faintest idea what his wife is saying now, after the first few words she spoke, he's blacked out the rest. It takes a few moments to gather himself, followed by another to convince himself he won't vomit. "One more time..." he asks. 

His wife, Annabel Shaw-Rogers cocks her head at her husband. "I said Addison needs a place to stay for a while." He nods. "I told her no but she was insistent on it, something about doctors orders. She's probably just got out of rehab again. Once a junkie always a junkie." She trails off in annoyance. 

All Steve can do is nod in response, he's chewing on his bottom lip trying to not scream. "The sister who was in and out of jail the last few years?" 

"Uh-huh."

Another nod. "The sister who pops drugs like they're candy?" 

"Uh-huh." 

He clears his throat and rests his hands on the counter, staring at the wall ahead of him. "The one you don't hear from unless she needs something?" 

Annabel chuckles and walks towards her husband of five years, she reaches out to him, wrapping her tanned arms around his waist. "Baby, I only have one sister. All of the horror stories you are about to ask are indeed about her." She takes a moment to rub a calming hand down his chest. "She's going to have to stay here if not, she'll never let that be the end of it." The sentence is ended with a loving kiss on his cheek and she leans into his body, trying to use her affection as an apology for the cards they have been dealt. For Steve, it'll take far more than a simple kiss and hug to rid the horrid taste in his mouth. She'll invade their privacy, ruin their home, invade the wholesome environment they have. Her drug-diseased handcuff ridden hands would be all over his home, infecting it. The air would be toxic, everything would have to be replaced, their home would need to be replaced. 

A new home, new furniture, new clothes. He'd be out of money by this time next year. 

If that wasn't bad enough, Addison Shaw was trouble with a capital T. The woman had trouble etched in her bones, her blood was filled with negativity. The only way to explain young Addison was everything bad that one person can do, Addison had done and then some. The two sisters were miles apart, Annabel was beautiful, sweet and brilliant while Addison was problematic, untrustworthy and downright awful. 

They were cut from two different strands, good and bad. To Steve, part of it would have made sense if one of them was bad if their daddy had a criminal history or even mommy but both parents were normal, average. Met in college, fell madly in love. Their mother was a stay at home mom, dad was a banker. They stayed out of trouble, minded their business, went to church on Sundays and said their prayers before bed. They were loving parents to beautiful girls, Annabel, their oldest, his wife. A dirty blonde haired girl who had dreams of being a singer. Their youngest, Addison was a brunette with-how he remembers hearing their mother describe as-big beautiful hazel eyes with the tiniest hints of green. There were no hopes or dreams used to describe her, no happy or cute memories that followed after any mention of her. It was always just Addison and then silence. 

The idea of Addison... staying there in his home, ruining the atmosphere. Forcing he and Annabel to live on edge to accommodate her. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right. However, this was his wife, the love of his life. He couldn't say no if she had already said yes. She had to be dealing with far more issues than his own, this couldn't have been easy on her. 

"How long?" He finally asks with a deep sigh. 

It takes her a while to answer which scares him, "A few weeks." That's an arrow straight in his heart. He's already envisioning his gravestone, 'Steven Grant Rogers. Died from: sudden cardiac arrest brought on by wife's junkie sister.'

"Fine..." He says with another sigh. "But she doesn't stay in the house." 

"Where are we going to put her, baby? The doghouse?"

Steve smiles. "If we had a doghouse, that wouldn't be nice enough for her."

Annabel agrees, pulling her arms from Steve. "Where then?"

"The guest house." 

"It's not finished with the remodel." 

"The kitchen is the only part left, the room, living room, and bathroom are done. She can survive with half a kitchen." He remarks.

"Just means she'll have to be here when she wants to eat." 

Steve wanted to strangle her, probably the only time on this earth that he had the urge to do so. A day he could handle, maybe two but an unspecified amount of weeks was hell on earth. Hell, literary, as if they had taken a one-way ticket to the bottom of Satan's ass. "I'll get the contractor to finish the kitchen within the week, pay him double if I have too." 

The contractor comes as planned and is less than happy about the sudden change, "In a week? My guys are gonna be workin' double time."

"I know, I get it. I'll pay you double-triple what you were getting. I just need this done by Monday." With a heavy sigh, the contractor agreed, apologizing ahead of time for the noise they would soon be faced with. 

They had noise and he was having nightmares, a horrible combination. Steve was on the brink of losing his sanity and the worst had yet to come. The impending doom of Addison's arrival was rapidly approaching. Each time he closed his eyes, it was followed by a possible outcome of Addison living with them. In one, she burnt down the house another threw a rager when they went out to dinner and the worst was her overdosing in their kitchen. Her arrival was eating him up. 

"Addison is aware we are gonna have rules?" Steve asks over dinner one night, over the sound power tools echoing through the home. 

"I'm sure." Annabel nods, chewing her food and staring at her cell phone. 

"Are we going to have to hide all the medicine?" 

Annabel drags her eyes from her facebook feed to stare at Steve blankly. "I hadn't thought about that." She clears her throat. "Probably. She'll probably wind up overdosing on cold medicine." The tone of her voice is full of malice and humor. 

It was crude place in time now that Steve found himself chuckling at the statement, instead of being overtaken with disgust. He always saw the best in people, believed that everyone deserves a second (Or more) chance. He extended olive branches, forgave the unforgivable, he was the embodiment of a good guy but times had changed. "You're okay with this, right?" Annabel asks in a small voice. 

"Of course." He lies. 

"Steve, are you really?" 

He exhales deeply, "Baby, she's your sister." 

"Only by blood." She remarks. "Trust me, If you could change your genetics, I would be first in line." There's not a hint of humor in her voice, she truly would. As depressing as it sounded, Annabel was ashamed to admit she had a sister almost as much as her parents were to say they had two daughters. He remembers taking Annabel on their first date, they talked about their families, there was never a hint that she had a sister. Annabel had spun a web that led him to believe she was an only child.  

In fact, Annabel never spoke about her, nor did her parents; it was like she never existed. It wasn't until their wedding that Addison dropped the bombshell of having a sister that left Steve speechless. It was nearly the end of their romance. "You have a sister and you just what? Forget to tell me about her?" He shouted in anger, slamming the front door behind him as he stomped into their new house. "We've been together for three years! Are those even your actual parents or are you waiting to introduce me to the real ones in another three years?" 

Annabel turned to face him, sighing and running a hand through her hair. "Steve, calm down." She pleads. 

"Don't tell me to calm down, you've been lying to me for three years." 

"I wasn't lying, I just didn't tell you about her." 

He groans, "That's the same damn thing." He heads to the kitchen, grabbing a beer from the fridge and quickly gulping it down. The only way he can think to calm his nerves is drinking alcohol also another way to keep his mouth busy instead of shouting. 

"Listen, Steve..." He ignores the next thing out of her mouth, pleas spill from her red-tinted lips about their upcoming wedding, 'it's only a month away', 'we can't call it off now! What am I going to tell my parents?'. Excuse after excuse yet she avoids the topic at hand. Her sister, a sister that she never once spoke about. That her parents never spoke about. Their family album had no pictures of another child, the pictures littered through their home was void of this mystery sister. 

"Why?" He asks, refusing to divulge into talk about their wedding, one mention of it and that would be all she'd focus on. He feels betrayed and used. He starts to question everything she's ever told him, even questions the validity of their relationship. "H-how.... how does someone lie about having a sibling?"

"It's complicated." 

Steve's eyes go wide and he leans in, chuckling. "Complicated?" he questions, setting his beer down on the counter in front of him. "Hey, Steve, I have a sister. Yeah, her name is Mary, she's nineteen; lives in Alabama, don't see her much. How is that complicated?"

Annabel sets her purse down on the counter in front of Steve, sighing heavily. "Okay... I was going to tell you, I planned on telling you but it just... isn't easy." She closes her eyes and swallows deeply, he notices her hands, she's squeezing her fingers. "We don't talk about her." 

"We?" 

"My parents, me; my family." Annabel lets out a nervous chuckle, realizing for the first time in years, she's confessing what is suppose to be a lifelong secret. "Her name is Addison and she's twenty-seven years old and... I don't know where she's living, I ran into her in Miami on the girls trip a few months back but I don't know where she's at right now, I haven't since she was sixteen."

It's even worse than Steve expected, however, he's not entirely sure what he expected. "What do you mean since she was sixteen? If she's twenty-seven now that means you're only two years apart." Annabel nods, ashamed. "What does that even mean?"

Annabel can hardly stand the look of confusion on her husband's face. There's no stopping now, she had to continue for both of their sakes. "You need to understand she put my parents through hell. She was horrible, a bad kid, beyond bad. She did drugs, threw parties, refused to go to school; refused to come home, drank. Anything she could do, she did. My parents tried, I tried. They sent to her to my uncles to try and help her but she nearly burned his house down." It's as if a weight has lifted off her chest, the lie that she had forced herself to believe is finally free. "She was unfixable. Getting worse as the days went by." 

"And you just gave up on her?" Steve questions in an angered tone. "She was a kid!" 

"No, we didn't!" She raises her voice, getting insulted by the accusation. "My parents tried like hell but it never worked. She never let it and they couldn't do it anymore, my dad was on the verge of losing his job, mom was having a mental breakdown. One day, my dad had enough he threatened her if she continued, he'd make her leave. She didn't change. The next day, she came home high and he packed her a bag and kicked her out. Called friends and family told them to not let her in." 

"How old was she?" 

"Sixteen."

"Six-Sixteen? She was sixteen years old?" He questions in shock. "Your father kicked your sixteen-year-old sister out of the house with nowhere to go?" The thought is unimaginable to him, an innocent child out alone in the world, battling the street of California with no one to help her. It made him sick, he could barely look at her. 

"It sounds bad, I know." 

He nods, chuckling being the only thing he can do that doesn't wind up with them ending their engagement. "I don't think you do." 

"I wanted her to come back, I looked for her but I couldn't find her." 

It's a lie or a comedy skit, it has to be. It doesn't seem plausible. He's met her parents, her fathers is the sweetest guy in the world, her mother loves with all of her heart. The first time he met her, she demanded a hug and that he comes over every holiday, birthday and Sunday for dinner. The idea that they, everyone's dream parents had kicked a child out of their home. "So, you guys just what? Woke up a few days later and said we only have one daughter. Gee, what a nice day?" 

Annabel cocks her head in annoyance, "No, One month of her being gone, turned into three and then it was a year and before we knew it life was so much easier without her around. My parents weren't fighting, I wasn't missing school because of something she did. We didn't have any police around the house, it was just simple. Normal. A happy family." She finally sits down on the bar stool, feeling exhausted. "Eventually we realized anytime we talked about her, my mother got sad and my father was angered. People didn't understand it either when we said what happened and we found it easier to not talk about her. We just pretended she didn't exist." 

Steve doesn't understand, he can't even begin to understand. If he had a child, he couldn't imagine turning on them. Casting them out with all dangers in the world that they could succumb to. No matter how horrible they were, he'd never give up on them. He couldn't. It wasn't in his blood. "You never heard from her until a few months ago?"

Annabel nods her head, brushing her hair behind her ear before she begins. Another jog down memory lane that breaks his heart even more. 

It was a few years later before her name was spoken again in the Shaw household, they had a phone call in the middle of the night from a detective in Texas, Addy; It softens his heart just for a second when Annabel uses her nickname, it shows she still cares somewhere in there. Addison was found in a cheap, rat and drug infested motel unconscious with signs of sexual assault. It had taken her three days to finally talk to police and another three for her to confess her first name. it was luck or a miracle that they discovered her purse trashed in an alley. 

"Do you know how late is it?" Her father, Gregory had shouted into the phone. His voice rough and full of sleep. 

"Sir, I apologize for the disruption. This is Detective Amanda White from the Austin Police department, sir, I'm afraid I have some bad news. We've found your daughter, Addison Shaw." 

The detective went on to confess the details of the case, Addison refused to talk, claimed it was a misunderstanding. An accident, she fell while getting dressed but all evidence said otherwise. They had found the doer but she refused to press charges and point the finger at him. He shrugged and simply told her, "I only have one daughter." In his mind, Addison had made her bed and whatever path she was on, was her own doing. After that, anything that reminded them of her was gone, pictures, drawings, baby boxes. She was merely a blip in their past. As far as anyone in their lives would know, the Shaw's had one daughter, Annabel.

"My dad didn't care," Annabel says with a look of pain. "my mom nearly died but she would have followed my father to the ends of the earth without second-guessing when he said never mention her, we didn't." 

Annabel goes on about running into her baby sister in Miami on her girl trip. Her last trip as an unmarried woman, the last hurrah. It was the hotel she was staying in that she found Addison. Not recognizing her at first, it had been so long since she'd seen her that time had corroded her image. 

"Addison?" She questions on a whim to the young girl with brown hair tied in a ponytail and dressed in a hotel uniform. "Addy?" It was her, beyond all belief. Their eyes met and Addison was a deer in headlights. It was an awkward reintroduction, two sisters split by time, coming face to face. 

"I'm getting married!" Annabel shouted midway through the conversation, her happiness leaking through. "I want you to be there." The words came out before she had a second to rethink her sentence.

Addison said nothing in response. It was a brief silence and a deep sigh before she answered, in a distant voice with cold eyes. "I hope you have a good wedding." 

"No, Addy, I want you there. It's my wedding day and I want my family there, all of my family." Her sister is still silent, staring at her like she's never met her. Which is nearly the truth, they didn't know one another. Other than their names, they were strangers. It had taken some convincing before Addison had responded with, "If time works out, maybe I'll think about coming." Annabel left her phone number with her, asking her one last time before she left "Just come, okay? It'll be fun." She didn't think it would work but this morning when she woke up, there a text message from an unknown phone number that simply read. "When is the wedding again? And where? -Addison." She texted back immediately, eyes still blurred from sleeping and another text arrived a few hours later. "I can come if you still want me too," Annabel responded by sending her the ticket details and saying she couldn't wait to see her again. 

"So, she's coming to our wedding?" Steve finally questions, rubbing his eyes and wishing he'd bought more beer. 

"Yes." 

"And what do your parents think?" He asks. 

"I haven't told them and I'm not going to."

"Anna..."

"Steve, it's my day, if I want to invite my sister that is my choice." 

"Fine." He agrees, walking around to the counter to engulf her in his arms. The good guy inside of him begins to think it could be the best thing to happen. The family could mend, forget about the past and begin again, Something good could come from their wedding. "This could be a fresh start. A way to move on from the past. A restart." He’s fooling himself with the agreement but his biggest flaw was always wanting to see the best in people, if she wanted her to be there, he would do that for her. For their family. 

 

 

 


	2. Booze, A wedding and a feud.

 

The day of their wedding, Steve felt sick, even arriving at the venue was a difficult task, every turn that brought them closer only quickened his heart rate. "She's off drugs?" he double checked with his wife-to-be.  He'd gone over the worse case scenarios in his head and even as he tried to calm himself down, convince himself that he was overreacting, He couldn't stop the thoughts that continued to pile up.

"I told her to be clean." Annabel said quietly, "I'm sure she'll listen." He didn't believe it and was half convinced neither did she. 

Their wedding was different than the usual, not at all what her parents had envisioned or the guests. They were going to have a short party before the wedding, a few drinks would be served and then the wedding would begin and the dinner afterwards. Instead of going straight into their hotel rooms and get ready, they mingled with their guests. Annabel spots Addison after a short while, Steve feels her hand squeeze his arm and she gasps. "Oh, she came and she looks drug free!" His eyes fall to the mystery sister and he's taken back. She looks normal... to normal. She's in a light blue dress that comes down to her knees and her hair is pulled into a bun, it's almost more shocking that she doesn't look a thing like Annabel or her parents. It's no wonder they were able to just forget her, she was the odd child.

"Addy, you're here!" Annabel squealed as she rushes towards her sister, she towers over her full of glee. 

"You sent me a plane ticket," She responds in a monotone voice as Annabel engulfs her in a large hug. Addison has a internal struggle as to how to respond, hugging felt to impersonal and not hugging felt rude, in the end she stayed still, her mind overthinking too much to remember to actually do one of the options.

"Shit, I didn't tell mom and dad you were here." Annabel suddenly confesses.

Addison chokes on her breath, it's like her body forgot how to function, she can't move. She is scared to death, stuck between wanting her sister to never let her go and tossing herself in front of a moving vehicle. All she can hope is her sister changes her mind, by some miracle maybe the stars will align and every god that exists or a genie will appear and give her this one wish that she's forced to leave. Annabel will shout, scream and force her to leave this place and never return. 

If only fate was that nice. 

Annabel taps gently on her sisters back before she's suddenly pulled away and her worst nightmare comes true. Clear as day, there she is. "Addison." She hears and now she's positive she'll never start breathing properly. That she'll die, her heart is going to stop and she'll be tossed in a garbage bin. There's a silent plea for help that is conveyed through her eyes as she comes face to face with the woman that gave her life. Annabel stands aside the two women, her eyes going back and forth between the two women watching silently. 

"Mo-Courtney... Uh.. Mrs. Shaw." She struggles at first, her voice is almost non-existent and her eyes drop immediately. She's been forced to see the disappointment that laid dormant in her mother's green eyes that she didn't think she could handle it today. Her mother looks exactly the same, dressed far better than everyone, the same color hair dye, her body covered in jewelry. Her mother was lavish but classy.

"What makes you think you have any right to be here?" She remarks turning up her nose. "And wearing that ill-fated color? Blue is not a flattering color on you, you would know that if you weren't to busy shoving illegal substances into your body." 

Addison stands still, her eyes tracing lines in the ground as she faces her mother's berating. "You have some nerve showing up. What is your plan? To ruin this event? Are we not welcome to one decent memory in this family that will not be ruined by you?" She feels herself growing smaller, like a doormat being trampled on which only worsens when her father joins the 'kick Addison party.' He's not one to spare feelings, his insults come quicker and harsher, he doesn't hold back. "You ruined this family with your refusal to grow up and you think you have the right to be here? That you can pick and choose when to be part of this family! You're not welcome here." He spits. 

Addison wants to try to make the situation better, say her sister invited her and that she only came out of remorse but it won't come out. Nothing is coming out. Not a single word. She has tears in her eyes and her breath is shaky as she tries to contain herself. "You came here to screw up this day? Like you did every other day of your lives? Ruin your sisters day because what? You need drug money?" Her father shouts, reaching into his black slacks and pulling out his wallet, he grabs the loose dollars her has and tosses them at her. "There now be gone." 

Steve isn't far from the abuse when he notices Addison, she's small compared to the three and her eyes never leave the ground. The green paper slowly falls to the ground at her feet but she still refuses to move. All he wants to do is run over and console her, shout at them and force them to act their ages but their is in-laws. His family and as much as he hates to admit it, maybe she deserved this. It could be her wake up call. The one thing she needs to get her act together. He watches helplessly, waiting for the moment he'd heard all to much, Addison's explosion. Every story Annabel had confessed to him, all ended the same way, she would threaten them or worse lash out at them and storm off. Only the moment never comes. 

"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Shaw." Addison simply says in response to their brutal words and walks away. Steve's eyes follow her as she leaves them, trying to disappear from their eyesight and he notices she wipes her eyes and takes a deep breath. It's out of character and even her parents are left speechless, glaring in the direction she had disappeared to. Steve chalks it down to her trying to be good for her sister's wedding. 

Shockingly, their wedding went off without a hitch, Mr. and Mrs. Shaw sat in the front row, sobbing as they watched their only daughter walk down the aisle to get married, Addison was seated in the last row, emotionless as the ceremony began. it was how she remained throughout the night, withdrawn. Steve, on the other hand was full of emotions, a stabbing pain in his gut began when his wives, father Gregory began his speech at the dinner. 

"My beautiful daughter. The light of my life. My reason for living. The day you were born and I held you in my arms for the first time, I knew you were destined for greatness. I could see it in those tiny little eyes and standing here before you I know it came true. I am so proud of the woman you've turned into, how strong you are. You're the best daughter a father could have. While it breaks my heart to have to give my only daughter away, I know that you'll be taken care of. That is all I want for you. I love you and I'm so excited to see this new chapter of your life begin." His speech seemed to be crafted to hurt Addison, each word meticulously thought out to tell the world, how proud he was of his only child. Steve looked for Addison while Gregory spoke, she was in the back of the room where most of the people they invited for seat fillers were placed. Her eyes were the first thing he noticed, they were empty, it looked like she was staring off into space. She had no reaction to Gregory's words as if she was ignoring them. The speech continued building Annabel up as God's gift and more but Steve remains focused on Addison, watching her for anything. It was almost beginning to annoy him that she wasn't doing anything or even smiling, she seemed to be there in person but mentally elsewhere. 

When the time for pictures came there was a part of Steve that cringed when he noticed Addison wasn't invited in them, not even by her sister who wanted her here. Addison stands idly by, almost blending in with everyone else as she smiles. 

"Alright, the groom and the bride's family, please." The photographer says ushering the bridesmaids away. Steve flattens his tie against his chest and watches Addison slowly begin to disappear into the crowd as if she's running away. 

"Uh... Give me a second." Steve gets out in a rushed tone. "I just need to..." his brain is drawing a blank and facing his now parent-in-laws seemed harder than ever.

"No, no, dear. You have no explaining to us, go find your wife." his mother in law says, gently tapping his shoulder. 

Steve smiles, nodding. It's not entirely lying and quickly rushes off in the direction that Addison begin disappearing in. He finds her inside the venue, ordering a soda at the open bar. He had no plan after he went after her, nothing even as to what he is going to say. Addison turns around, nearly crashing into him and lets out a startled gasp. 

"I'm sorry." She says in a apologetic tone, immediately cowering down. 

"It's my fault." They really were different, he notes. "You're Annabel's sister?" He questions as if he didnt know that already. 

The statement gets her attention, she scans the area to see if anyone heard that and finally looks up to meet Steve's eyes. "No... The Shaw's only have one daughter, you must have me confused." There's a small smile at the end of her sentence that doesn't sit well with him. "Congratulations on your wedding." 

Steve is left speechless as he watches Addison return to her seat, there a million moves he can make followed by a million things he could say, 'I know you're Addison's sister. Listen everything that has happened is a mistake, a complete misunderstanding." Before he even has a opportunity to do any of that, he's stopped by the actions of his parent-in-laws shouting for the remaining guests inside of the venue to leave. Gregory storms in, face bright red and his body language even more threatening than his voice. "Everyone out! If you're not family, get the hell out! That includes you behind the bar!" Everyone scurries from the room like rats. Steve's attention turns back to Addison whose now standing, her eyes wide and body slowly beginning to tremble. 

"What the hell is your problem?" he shouts, pointing his finger accusingly at Addison. 

Annabel quickly rushes to her mother's aide, wrapping her arms around her and sobbing. 

"You weasel your way into this wedding and what decided to see who you could get to buy some drugs from you?" 

Steve takes a step forward, "Whoa-whoa, hold on. Do we even know that she brought drugs here?" He tries to play devil's advocate to no avail. 

"Did you or my daughter invite any other known drug users to the wedding?" Gregory questions. 

Steve bites his tongue, glancing at his wife whose sobbing hysterically. "I don't have anything, old man." Addison sneers. 

"Let me see your purse." He demands, walking towards her, holding out his hand. 

"Screw you." Addison shouts, clutching her purse closer to her chest. 

"Wait, alright." Steve interrupts. "If you didn't have any drugs on you then we shouldn't have any problems going through your purse, right?" He asks, moving in between the two. 

"I have nothing on me." 

"Then we'll look into your purse and all will be good, right?" He's praying to God, he's right, it's a misunderstanding. Charlie from his office always seemed a bit sketchy, it could easily be him. 

Unreluctantly, Addison hands her purse over to Steve with a shaky breath. He's begging for a tell, something in her eyes that lets him see the truth but there is nothing there. Not even fear or anger, they're just empty. He looks inside the purse, moving a few items around before his eyes grow wide. underneath her wallet was a clear bag of pills, all different shapes and sizes. 

"There's nothing in here." He says, gently putting the wallet over the contents again. 

There's a surprised reaction inside the room, Annabel gasping and her father, staring at him confused. "You're sure?" he questions. 

"Yes." He nods. 

"Check the side pockets." 

Steve inhales deeply, unzipping the pockets on the side. "Nothing here either." 

Gregory doesn't take that as an answer, "No, give me it. There has to be something here." Steve uses his size as an advantage, puffing his chest out and shoving an hand out. 

"There's nothing here." He repeats. "Would I lie to you?" Gregory chews on his lower lip, exhaling sharply. With a quick look to Addison, he fears the truth will soon fall out of his mouth. "Addison, I think it's time you leave." Steve shoves the bag into her hands. 

Without another word, Addison grips the bag and quickly leaves the room without a look behind her. Gregory who is still filled with anger, moves behind the bar pouring a shot of whiskey and quickly drinking it. Annabel and her mother escape to the bathroom to adjust their makeup, both reeling emotionally from the events. He lets out a deep breath before heading in the same direction Addison went down earlier.  The sour taste in his mouth is only getting worse as he spots her on the sidewalk, a cigarette between her lips as she anxiously waits for her car. "What the hell is wrong with you? Your sister invites you here to extend an olive branch and you bring a bag of pills? Are you capable of only making bad decisions?" He shouts at her long before he even gets near her.

"An olive branch? Is that what you think that was?" 

"Why do you think you're here?" Steve asks, tossing his hands up in the air. 

"Yeah, you're right. The one time my sister allows me to be apart of this family, I screw it up by bringing a shit ton of pills." 

"I just lied for you. I lied to my father-in-law for you!" He's lost all ability to control himself now. 

"I didn't put those pills in there!" She closes the space between them, rising to the tips of her toes. 

"Who did, huh?" 

"I don't know but I didn't." 

He chuckles, "Oh my god. You're pathetic." It takes a minute for what she's saying to actually hit him and he can't help but let out another chuckle, rubbing his clean shaven face. "Wow! You really think that they... that Gregory and Courtney put those in your purse?" 

"I wouldn't put it past them." 

"You don't even know them!" Steve shouts. 

"Neither do you." She scoffs, shaking her head. "You think you're marrying into the brady bunch, huh? Sweet wholesome family with their little dog Tiger out in the backyard? Let me tell you something, it takes two awfully screwed up people to make one fucked up kid don't you think?"

"You're blaming them for your decisions?" 

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, now does it?" She tosses her cigarette onto the ground and shakes her head. "Like I said congratulations on marrying into the Brady Bunch. Just make sure your dog doesn't get hit by a car." Addison smirks, walking into the parking lot, refusing to take the blame for anything or even share a thank you. 

That was almost six years ago, he could barely handle their fight outside of the wedding, how was he supposed to handle a few weeks with her living inside of his house? 

Annabel could lie, claim something came up, they had an emergency and she could no longer stay. Only his brain wouldn't let him, technically his mother wouldn't. "We forgive people for their past mistakes, some day, you'll be the one who makes a mistake and wishing someone would forgive you." She had beat that phrase into him when he was just a young boy. 

Damn his mother, damn her inspiring speeches and damn him for being a good son and listening.

If his mother was privy to any of the thoughts running rampant in his head, she'd flip over in her grave. Even worse, she'd probably rise up from the grave and whack him on the back of the head with a rolled up newspaper. 

Rather face the possibility that his mother would be ashamed of him, he took action. Hiding anything of value they had. Art, trinkets, jewelry; anything that she could make even the tiniest bit of money off of to support her habit. It was wrong and his mother would be annoyed that he was not seeing the best in people but she wasn't someone who had the best inside of them. If he could, he'd replace the furniture just to prevent her from infecting it. 

Two days before she gets there, the contractor has another problem. "Listen, the kitchen it's done..." 

"Why does it sound like there is a 'but' at the end of that?" 

He chews on his bottom lip, "Whoever you got to do that wiring on short notice, he did a shit job." 

'What does that mean?" 

"It means you got a faulty kitchen. You flip the switch for the light and the breaker blows, turn on the disposal and the breaker blows, plug the fridge in--"

"The breaker blows." Steve finishes his sentence for him. "I get it, what can you do to fix that?" 

"Redo it." 

"So do that." 

"It's gonna take at least a week." 

"I don't have a week. I have two days." Steve panics, rubbing his palms together to calm the nerves. "What if I tripled your money?" 

"Still can't be done in a week." 

He begged, promised and bribed the contractor to find anyone who could do a good job in short notice but there wasn't anyone willing to take on the job who could guarantee the job would be done in a two days. He was screwed and the hours were closing in. Miss Addison "Trouble" Shaw was on her way and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. Not even if he tried. 

"When is the last time you talked to Addison?" Steve asks just before they go to bed. 

"I don't know... probably the wedding." She looks over and notices her husband is laying down wide eyed. "Baby, it's going to be fine." 

"How can you say that? With the shit that happened at the wedding? She was invited there and screwed that up. What's to say we don't wake up one morning and find half of our stuff gone? Or worse some guys standing over the bed with guns at our heads?"

"Babe, she's not the mafia." The statement doesn't comfort him as much as it should, instead it only makes him feel worse. At least if she was the mafia, there was a chance he could bargain their way out of death. Launder money for them, sell illegal stuff, hide people, whatever it took he would do it. Addison wasn't as simple, she was a no good drug addict. 

 


	3. "It's..." here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dreaded day has arrived, Miss Addison Shaw is finally here. Instead of balloons and streamers, it's dark clouds and solemn faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter took entirely longer than I expected. Or wanted. Each time i wrote it, it came out shit. (not that this one is much better but hey)

It's amazing how much can change in five years, how a person can shift their entire demeanor to become completely unrecognizable. The past five years, Steve had grown partial to a beard something he hadn't worn since his senior year of college when he was up to his neck in finals and had no time for non-necessities; his attire had changed drastically suits became the norm; buttons ups a comfort item and dress shoes a staple of his outfits. Yet while he had changed for the best, his opinions differed when his eyes came upon Addison, her hair was a darker shade of brown, her eyes as impossible as it was, appeared darker. There was a three inch scar below her left eye that was at least a year old that caught your attention immediately, a pale face with a scarred gash. She's dressed in a red flannel that looks two sizes too big for her small frame, a plain black T-shirt underneath and light blue jeans that were stained. She's lost weight, probably to much if he was honest. The woman in front of him looked nothing like the one he'd met years earlier.

Steve notices the differences between the 'sisters,' Addison is shorter than Annabel, by six inches. Different eye colors, different hair color, hair texture and different body shapes. Different everything. If it weren't for their last name, no one would have assumed they were siblings let alone related.

Addison keeps her eyes to the ground, staring at her scuffed converse that should have been replaced six months ago. Her duffel bag is hooked over her shoulder and she's breathing deeply. "Haven't seen you since the wedding." Steve says immediately regretting his decision to try to lighten the mood. Instead of helping clear the awkward air, it only added to it. Immediately, he kicks into protector mode. "Listen, if you're going to be staying with us." He says, straightening his posture and lowering the pitch of his voice. "I need to check your bag."

Her chocolate eyes quickly meet his and he expects the worse. Her refusal, even her storming off after shouting an insult but she does the opposite. She drops her bag on the ground between them and takes a step back, allowing him access. The search comes up empty, there isn't anything inside of it aside from clothing, a journal and a wallet. No drugs, syringes or weapons. There's a flash of disappointment that crosses his face when he zips the bag up, he hoped that would have been his ticket to kick her out. Hoped maybe she was stupid enough to have something.

"And we need to check you." Her sister speaks as she stands beside Steve with a brown paper bag in her hand. Steve's jaw tightens as he steps forward, "I assume you know how to stand for a body search?" Annabel asks.

Addison's arms extend out and she spreads her legs a bit as Steve begins patting her down. His hand comes into contact with a hard object in her front pocket, "What's that?"

"Phone." She says in a small voice, avoiding his eyes. He's given her the benefit of the doubt in the past and it came back to bit him in the ass, he won't be making the same mistake twice. Using two fingers, he carefully pulls out a old flip phone from her pockets and lets out a quick breathe.

"Okay." He replies, pushing it back into her pocket. 

Steve rejoins his wife who is listing out the rules for her stay, "No drugs, no drinking alcohol; no parties, no visitors. You will use the front door of the house to come and go, the back gate is locked and will remain that way. You break any of those rules, you will be on the street." Annabel's hands Addison the brown paper bag. "We will also be drug testing you twice a day. Once in the morning and once at night; before we get you settled we'd like you to take one now. Inside the bag is a cup, go the bathroom, pee in it and we'll test you. if it comes back positive, Steve will take you to the guest house."

Addison does it without a second thought, following Annabel's directions to the bathroom and closing the door behind her. The married couple stand near the restroom, thankful they don't have a window that she can escape from in there.

"Do you think she'll do it?" Steve asks, leaning his back against the wall.

"If she's really got nowhere else to go, yes." Annabel is filing her hot pink nails and sitting on the blue bench, they had to have to accentuate the hallway. What it really added was beyond him but for the price of it, it had better be doing something impressive.

"You sure this will work?"

Annabel doesn't have a chance to answer before the bathroom door opens and a startled Addison walks out. Her eyes are wide and she takes a few deep breaths to calm herself, handing the brown bag back to Annabel who stares at her in disgust. Steve takes the bag instead, giving her a small nod.

"I'll do this." He enters the master bedroom, retrieving the box of drug tests they had purchased. The instructions are straight forward, have a sample ready and dip the stick in; wait five minutes and the results will be ready. Two lines for negative. One line for positive. Waiting feels like an eternity, his watch ticks the seconds away and his mind is spinning with the possibility she's high. He should have checked for track marks.

The five minutes are up and to his relief it's negative. She was off to a good start. Rejoining the girls in the living room, the air is full of static, both unsure of their next move. "She's clean." He says a little to joyful.

"Good. I'm glad." Annabel smiles, clapping her hands. "Steve will show you to your room, I have to get started on dinner."

Steve expected more conversation to arise as he lead Addison to the guest house, even a simple remark about the yard or the house rather than silence. It's unsettling and blatantly obvious that she's nothing more than a stranger. The only thing even allowing them to interact was a marriage license between someone who had once considered her family.

"The uh--the kitchen is testy, some appliances work when they want to, others not so much. I'm working on getting it fixed, as for what truly works in the kitchen It's a bit of a guessing game." Steve says once they get inside the guest house. "The fridge is not to reliable either, anything you need, you're more than welcome to get from the main house. The glass door we'll leave unlocked for you." He hopes some parts of this come off as genuine, he's trying everything to not be rude but the amount of hostility bubbling inside of him is putting him on edge. "The bedrooms just through there." He points to left. "There's no television but I'm sure Annabel will have no problem setting you up with the internet password."

Addison nods, the muscles in her face tightening as she looks around. "We put some blankets in there for you and a dresser for your clothes. You're welcome to stay as long as you need." Steve nervously taps his fingers along the marble counter. He leaves, chewing on his bottom lip and fast walking back to the main house where Annabel is leaning against the counter, reading a copy of some gossip magazine.

"She all settled in?" she asks, discarding her magazine to wrap her hands around her husbands waist.

"Yes. Are you sure we shouldn't have gotten something else for there? I don't feel comfortable with her coming and going into the house as she pleases."

"She'll be fine." The conversation was dropped after that, no further discussions of mentions of her. For the next few hours, he's doing everything he can to not stare at the guest house. He's waiting for it, the sound of gunshots, a fire breaking out. The worst is coming, it's just a matter of time.

Around dinner, Annabel places a plate of roast chicken with a side of pasta in front of him and another where she is going to sit. There's an extra plate resting on the counter that is eyeing Steve. "I told Addison she was more than welcomed to join us for dinner. Don't be surprised if she comes in." She doesn't. Their dinner is quiet, the same way it always is. Addison focus is on him for the first few minutes before falling victim to her cell phone.

Steve spots a lit turn off from one of the windows in the guest house but it still does nothing to make the dread leave.

Their conversation resumes once they are inside the comfort of their room, "I'm surprised she didn't have any drugs on her." Annabel remarks once she sits on the bed, dressed in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.

"Maybe this will work, the drug tests and the rules."

"I doubt it."

Steve walks out of the bathroom, discarding his pair of pants into the hamper. "Why do you say that?"

"I think she actually enjoys creating trouble like... she gets off on it. God, every second of my childhood was filled with some of her bullshit. One thing after the other. Then the shit at our wedding, we extended an olive branch and she screws it up. I mean, she's an adult and still acts like she's a child." Steve lets her continue, holding his tongue. "I give her three weeks before she's back jonesing for her next fix."

"Even if it fails, at least we can say that we tried." Steve suggests, sitting on the bed bedside her. "If it does work, at least our children would know their aunt."

Annabel turns to him, disgust smeared across her face. "Yeah, their druggie aunt Addison. No childern of ours will even know of her existence."

"You can't say that." He objects.

Annabel scoffs, shaking her head. "Are you kidding me? We have a 50/50 chance of having at least one child like Addison, my parents had her, who knows what we could have. If by some miracle we manage to have one child with their head screwed on right, we don't need her corrupting them."

Steve stares at her in disbelief. "You'd keep her away from our family?"

"To protect our family."

"Even if she was clean?"

"I don't care."

"Annabel..." He lets out in a low whisper. "You can't say that, she's your sister."

"By blood. Not by choice." She corrects him, sternly.

"Baby..."

"Steve, you've known her for less than two hours, I grew up with that. I know exactly what she's capable of." 

With that, Annabel tugs the blankets up, turns off her bedside lamp and lays down.

Steve sat in silence, his head leaning against the headboard while his eyes remained on his wife. He’d never faced a problem such as this one before, good guys were always good guys and bad guys were always bad guys. Addison however was neither good nor bad, she fell somewhere in between. She’d made bad decisions, did bad things but wasn’t evil as far as he was aware. His mind was in a battle between hating her and wanting to care for her.

Steve wakes at five in morning, the smell of coffee filling the house and the subtle scent of Annabel’s perfume lingers on the sheets. Inside the living room, he expects to find the Shaw sisters but only finds his wife, whose muttering to herself about misplacing her keys.

“They’re on the microwave.” Steve says, leaning on the counter watching her. She’s dressed in a form fitting blue dress and black heels.

“Thank you.”

Annabel moves to grab her keys off the microwave and Steve notices the black suitcase, she only uses on her trips that is against the counter. “I thought you weren’t working this week.”

Annabel sighs, pushing her hair out of her face. “I wasn’t. Harold…” Her boss. “…called and said they need me to go to Seattle and help train a bunch of new employees. They are having a difficult time selling.”

“They need you?”

“June’s going as well.”

“What am I supposed to do with Addison?”

“Steve…” She says in a low voice, walking up to him and running her hands along his shoulders. “I’ll be gone for a three days, a week at most.“ She raked her nails down his chest, knowing fully well the grey t-shirt he’s wearing leaves him with no protection against her seduction, he fights it; tightening his jaw and looking out the window at the guest house. Annabel’s hand pulling at the waistband of his pants brings his attention back to her.

He lets out a low groan as she nips at his Adams apple and trails her tongue up his neck. Steve groans, roughly pulling her into him and digging his fingers into her hips. Their kiss is rough, full of pent up frustration and need.

"Fifteen minutes.” She says between the kiss as he bites at her lip and she pulls at his hair.

With a loud growl, he lifts her onto the counter, standing between her legs and pulling her dress up. “More than enough time.”

Sex with Annabel had changed throughout their time together, in the beginning it was spontaneous, pouncing on one another at any given time or any location, wild and crazy. After their nuptials, it dwindled down, less spontaneity. Sex became rare and when opportunities arose the air was filled with excuses, 'his back hurt, she was on her feet all day, sleep was calling.' Far too many excuses and far too little energy. Their need for each other was still there, bubbling at the surface waiting to be released which is why he is having to resist every urge inside of him to strip her completely and run his fingers through her hair. Steve likes intimacy, he likes to bare his soul and have the same in return. Lingering touches; small kisses, quick gasps and whispers of I love you. He wants every single part of his partner.

Her nails dig into his back and her teeth into his shoulder as he finally pushes into her. "Annabel..." He groans, trying to pull her closer. 

It's the clearest his mind has been in the fifteen hours since Addison's arrival, for once he can clear his mind of the 'what ifs' and focus on one thing. He can focus on his wife, Annabel and the beautiful sounds she's making or the feeling of her body reacting to him. It's going to be over soon either because they've ran out of time or because he can no longer find the will to not break. He warns her, letting out a stifled cry into her neck that he's almost there but before she can respond, her body jerks away and her legs shake sporadically. It's blissful the sound of her coming apart. Steve studies her face, lips parted letting out a silent scream, her eyes shut tight and her body trembling with aftershocks. Not even a second after her, he lets out a loud curse and can hardly stand upright as he fills her. They lean on one another, trying to calm their heart rate and gain control of their breathing. 

With a pat on his bicep, Annabel speaks. "I've got to go, baby." He nods in response. "Baby..." Steve breathes out deeply, stepping away and fixing his pants as she disappears down the hall. He collapses onto the couch, glistening of sweat and feeling weak at his knees. Annabel rejoins him, looking beautiful as ever, her perfume and hairspray fill his nose as she leans down to give him a quick kiss. "I love you." She whispers against his lips. 

"Come back to me." He responds, accepting that she is leaving. 

Annabel smiles, "I always do." She says making his heart swell.

The comment started as joke, they were at a party when a man began flirting with Annabel; desperately trying to bed her. Steve watched their encounter, finding humor at the man's actions before joining them and quickly wrapping his arm around her waist. Annabel buried her head into his chest, sighing with relief at her savior. "I was worried you weren't going to come back to me." He says mockingly, knowing the man had no shot with her. She shook her head and looked him straight in the eyes, "I always will." It was simple yet straightforward, mimicking a confession of love with the way Steve felt his heart beat faster. Since then he's always said it and she's always responded in the same way. 

An hour after Annabel's leaves, Steve is struggling with what to do about Addison; she needs her drug test but she hasn't came out of the guest house and he has to leave for work in fifteen minutes. He's now fighting an internal battle of what to do, does he go to the guest house and ask for her urine? Does he leave the cup on the counter with a note and hope when she comes into the house to eat, she'll do it? Should he even go to work? How was he supposed to do anything this week while Addison was here? After a short debate and his watch counting down the minutes, he decides to go to the guest house, he'll have to get this over with. It's a short walk, ten minutes at most but to him it feels like ten hours, each step feels weighted as if a rope is wrapped around his ankle and someone is pulling at it as he moves. He's waiting for the black clouds, the circle of fire or the smoke monster from that Tv show to appear; something the signifies this was a bad idea. He fights every cell in his body telling him to turn away and knocks on the wooden door, quietly at first before finding the courage to knock harder. There's shuffling on the other side of the door before it swings open revealing Addison who looks worse than he thought possible.

"Good morning," He says with a small nod. "It's time for your test." 

She sighs, extending her hand out to grab the plastic jar. "In front of you?" 

 "No." He shakes his head. "Just bring it back when you're done." 

Addison disappears into the house while he stares at his watch, counting how long it takes for her to return. Three minutes. That corresponds with how long it took her yesterday, as long as she didn't spend more than three minutes in the bathroom all was well. That limited the chances of her doing something to compromise the sample. The jar is wrapped in paper towel, most likely to give her some respect over the fact that she's handing her brother-in-law a jar of her urine.  

"If it comes back positive, I'll be back." He warns before walking back to the house. Inside of the bathroom, he tests the urine and says a silent thank you when once again the results are positive. The last thing he wanted to do was kick Addison out while Annabel was away. Flushing the urine down the toilet, he sends a quick message to Annabel about the results of Addison's latest drug test. It still feels wrong, breathing the same air that Addison is, knowing that any moment she can break. Turn into a lying manipulating monster, it's not a safe environment for any of them. Not safe for her to be around them but she is, they have no choice.  "We're good people." he can hear his mother reprimanding him. He's doing this for Annabel, putting up with this mess for his wife because he loves her. 

His next battle is leaving for work, which is harder than it should be. He's ready, dressed, briefcase packed and for some reason he can't find enough strength to turn the knob. He's scared, scared of what might happen when he is gone, what evil she could bring into the house. She's a virus that's affecting the home, a demon that is haunting them. They have insurance, homeowners protection and savings, if she does something they are protected and he'll use the full force of the law to go after her. Make her pay for her faults unlike her family he wrote her off. It's a new found confidence running through his body as he finally manages to turn the doorknob and step out. The air outside feels different, cleaner and lighter even brighter. The heavy fog that was hanging over him is gone. He's able to breathe until he gets to work. Work is another ball park, all day it's numbers and meetings, his boss' loud voice booming through the office demanding better... everything. No encouraging speeches, just paperwork slamming onto the table and shouting for better results. Tony Stark, his boss; his friend--most of the time-- is a perfectionist and at times an asshole.

When Steve and Tony first met, it was like a firecracker had gone off inside the building, sparks flew and egos went to bat. Two dominate male personalities were sparring with their words just waiting to get their fists involved. Over time, their toxic relationship became less toxic, they could finally refer to each other as friends in certain situations. Usually after work, they'd meet up for drinks and bitch about their boss, complain about their personal lives and drink their sorrows away. Until Tony became the boss and suddenly, their fighting was a far more common occurrence; they had to find a line that allowed them to be friends and employee/employer. The line was blurred, they could work together as long as one of them didn't disagree with the other then suddenly an argument would break out yet after work they were out drinking or at dinner with the others family. While it made no sense, no one questioned it in fear more questions would create another set of problems.  

After work, Steve is tired and refuses to go home, he'll be returning to a empty bed and the devil's spawn will be there. Against better judgement, he decides to go out with Bucky and Tony. Tony is buying the first round per Bucky's request, "The boss pays first round, he works us to the bone least he could do is pay for our drinks." which puts a smile on Steve's face but not for long. He's lost in the negative yet again. 

James 'Bucky' Barnes or Jimmy as Tony refers to him when he's angry (which only pisses off Bucky), has been friends with Steve since childhood, they grew up just five houses apart and instantly became family. Everyone assumed they were brothers because of how close they were and eventually they stopped correcting people, they felt like family and they were. Chances were if you found Bucky, Steve wouldn't be to far away. They were attached by the hip which was how they manage to work together. Steve applied first and Bucky applied on a whim somehow both managing to land a job.

"Why weren't you at work today?" Tony asks, turning into their boss for a moment as he looks at Bucky. Who called in with the excuse he was sick but was perfectly healthy now.

"Sick." 

Tony raises an eyebrow. "Sick? But not too sick to drink?"

"Drinking heals the soul." Tony shakes his head, scoffing at the younger man and walks to the bar to retrieve the beers. 

It doesn't take long before Bucky realizes something is eating at his best friend, not that it was difficult to see, Steve had a terrible poker face. Exactly the reason, Bucky and Tony always won during poker nights, one look at Steve and it was obvious, if his hand was good or bad. "Alright, what's wrong, punk?" He asks nudging him in the arm. 

Steve lifts his head, confused. "Huh? Oh, nothing." His shoulders shrug. 

"Something's up. Tony said you didn't even argue with him about having to redo a report." 

"There was no reason to argue." 

If they were in a old fashioned bar, the record would've scratched and everyone around them would've gasped. Their expressions would've matched Bucky's whose starring him wide eyed with his jaw almost on the floor. "No reason to fight with Stark? Now I know something is up. You never pass up a moment to argue with Stark, no matter how ridiculous."

Tony arrives at the table, three beers in hand, "Drink up boys." 

Enthusiastically, Tony and Bucky grab the beers quickly drowning their livers in the brown liquid and share a look of confusion when Steve grabs the bottle but doesn't drink it. The two men silently come to the conclusions his attitude shift is none other than problems linked to his wife. They have yet another silent realization that one of them is going to have to be the one to ask and neither want to do it. Their eyes convey their words, arguing over who is going to do it before Tony says to hell with it and asks. 

"So, what'd she do?" Tony asks, leaning back in his seat, getting ready for another dive into Steve's relationship.

"What? Who? Annabel?" 

Bucky lets out a sarcastic laugh, "Who else?" 

"It's not her." The two men beside him let out a laugh. "It's her sister." As quickly as their laughter started, it was gone. Confusion is clearly going to play a large role in tonight's conversation. 

"Sister?" Bucky questions. "I didn't know she had a sister?" he looks at Tony for confirmation, he to didn't know 

There's not a descriptive word in the English language that could properly convey the feeling of sorrow that overtakes Steve as he tells the story of dear ol' Addison Shaw, the black sheep of the Shaw family. He can see his friends faces contort with confusion and disgust as they take in the secret. They're as speechless as Steve was the first time he heard and suddenly filled with anger, Tony's eyes shift and Bucky's jaw tightens. Steve fills a wave of euphoria after finally getting every last drop out, the story is out there, finally he's not alone in bearing the weight. He can have a third party involved, someone that isn't entirely involved by blood or marriage. A new opinion, someone to tell him if he is doing the right thing or at least give him advice. 

Tony is uncharastically speechless, normally the man has words ready before someone is even done speaking but now he's leaning on his hand and letting out a deep breathe, while he tries to process the revolution. Bucky however is, leisurely drinking his beer and shaking his head. Then he smiles and Steve knows, the second Bucky smiles after startling information is revealed is never a good thing. 

"Well, shit." Bucky adds. "You hit the jackpot, kid." He's not done. There is no shock factor yet and Bucky loves to shock, if even for entertainment purposes. "She single?" There it is. The one line that makes Steve question why he's friends with him. "Or you know, down for something? Sex with someone who's got a few screws loose is fucking life changing."

"Goddamn, Barnes." Tony chimes in with disgust. "Don't let your boss hear you say stuff like that, you're gonna fail a drug test if you stick it in her." 

"I'm telling my friend, not my boss." He corrects.

"Two drug tests a day then?" Tony asks shifting the conversation from Bucky's sexual conquests to the real issue at hand. Steve nods. "She got a record?" 

Steve sighs for the hundredth time tonight, "According to Annabel, yes. A few arrests for drug use but I don't know the details. I don't even think she does." 

Tony suggests using one of his 'friends' to look into Addison, the perks of being born with money meant you had an assortment of people at your fingertips, all waiting for the one phone call to get started. He's listing off people that Steve can use, a detective who owes him a few favors (he won't say why and Steve is scared to ask), a doctor who can get him a better drug testing kit; a private investigator to not only watch her every move but to find out where she has been for the last few years. 

For a moment, Steve considers it; it would make his life a lot easier, probably easier to sleep. "No, I can't." He shakes his head with disappoint. "Annabel said, she'd last three weeks at most before she slips up. it would be a waste of time."

"What if she slip ups and costs you guys something?" Bucky finally interjects, this time with something helpful. "You guys were already having problems, what if she's the thing that makes you call it quits." 

For the first time in their friendship, Tony agrees with Bucky as painful as it, the last few weeks-months have been filled with Steve drinking his pain away and cursing at the thought of his wife. It wasn't divorce worthy yet but the possibility of separating had arose. Tony suggested it, using his own relationship as an example. "Time apart hurt like hell but it did the trick, made us... me realize what I wanted and need." He'd said. Bucky was silent during the conversation, not having a 'relationship' to compare it to. The most trouble he faced was deciding what woman to call if he didn't luck out at the bar. Steve and Tony were the only ones in long term relationships and knew the troubles you could experience. Tony was far more useful in this situation but surprisingly Bucky was holding his own. 

"It wouldn't cause that." Steve argues.

"It could." 

Steve feels like a lost puppy after Tony speaks and his eyes drop to his gold wedding band. Every aspect of their lives, he'd taken into account except for their marital problems. Things weren't great between he and Annabel but they weren't bad either, it was this weird space between them. They spoke but not frequently. They said they loved each other and kissed one another goodbye but it didn't feel the same anymore. They'd fight, then make up and fight again. An endless cycle. 

"Steve..." Bucky voice is small, as if he's not entirely sure what to say. "Why would Annabel agree to this? To her staying with you guys?" 

 All Steve can do is shrug, "I don't know. I think it's because she's trying to be nice? Do what her parents couldn't." 

"You said she brought drugs to your wedding after Annabel invited her and she's giving her another chance?" 

"I don't know." Steve finally gives up, none of it makes sense. 

 "Was she at your mother in law's funeral?" Tony asks, thinking back to the depressing day, there wasn't anyone in particular he remembered looking troubled attending. 

 "No, Annabel said she refused to answer the phone." 

Tony scoffs, "God." 

Steve's phone beeps, stealing their attention and startling all of them. It's a text message from Annabel asking about Addison's latest drug test. His cue to go home. "Boys, I have to go." He says, tapping Tony on the shoulder before rising to his feet. He tosses a few dollars onto the table for them. "Next round's on me." He's grateful for the notification, he'd lost track of time and didn't want to leave Addison alone in his home. Bucky offers a helping hand before he departs, "Call me if you need me. If it gets outta control."

Arriving home just in time to beat the sunset, he quickly gathers the jar and heads to the his guest house, it's quiet again; no noises; no moving this either. It's dead silence. "Addison?" He resorts to shouting her name and knocking. She answers the door wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a loose fitting guns n roses t-shirt, her hair is a birds nest and dark bags under her eyes. They're not happy to see one another but without any complaints, she takes the small jar and disappears from his view. He stares at his watch again, timing her. One minute... two minutes... two in a half... three minutes... three minutes and sixteen seconds before she comes into view, the jar wrapped yet again in toilet paper. He doesn't say anything this time, she has to know by now and there is no point in repeating. The results once again are clean. He texts Annabel, telling her Addison is clean and that he misses her, wishes she was here and that he loves her before laying down in bed. 

It's cold. The bed and the house when he wakes, the bedside alarm clock taunts him reading, 12:09am. Four hours of sleep yet he feels like he only got five minutes of sleep. Steve stretches his muscles and exits the bedroom, sighing heavily as his bare feet touch the wooden planks beneath him. The kitchen is dimly lit from the fish tank full of fish, they always manage to neglect; another reason they couldn't have a dog. Their fish sometimes go days without eating or days where they are overfed, unfortunately never in between. He plans to feed them only to grab his chest and let out a loud, "Fuck!" when he notices a figure sitting at the counter. The figure jumps as well, glass shatters against the floor, making the scene even more harrowing. 

"Shit."


End file.
